Gov’t mulling having vice minister stationed at Oi nuke plant: Hosono via The Mainichi

TOTTORI, Japan (Kyodo) — The government may station political officials, such as a senior vice industry minister, at the Oi nuclear power plant in Fukui Prefecture to ensure its safety, nuclear accident minister Goshi Hosono said Wednesday, in an effort to win local consent to restart the plant’s reactors.

Hosono revealed the plan at a meeting of the Union of Kansai Governments, held in Tottori Prefecture, saying that the government plans to set up a special surveillance system involving the government and the plant’s operator Kansai Electric Power Co. to ensure the safety of reactivating the Nos. 3 and 4 reactors of the Oi plant.

The government plans to propose such safety measures to the Fukui prefectural government in the near future and, if they are approved, it will make a final decision as soon as early next month to resume operation of the reactors, located on the Sea of Japan coast.

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